1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a peripheral device of a portable computer, and more particularly to a peripheral device of a portable computer with thermal control circuitry.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the quick development of information technology, computer systems widely used in every industry are playing an important role in many companies for modernization. The manufacturing of portable computers has become a mainstream business in the computer industry because of the increase of data storage density, the improvement of operational speed, and the decrease of production cost.
When designing portable computers, the problem of expelling heat is one of the most important factors to consider. In general, the source of heat mostly comes from the central processing unit (CPU). Therefore, heat dissipation systems in portable computers are mainly designed to expel the heat generated from the CPU. Along with the improvements of the system performance brought by increasing the operational speed of the CPU, the temperature of PC components and the computer system also increase. A poorly designed heat dissipation system may make the system unstable for high temperatures. It may hurt users due to the overheated system and PC components. Unfortunately, the phenomenon is not likely to be observed by users while using computers. When the temperature reaches the maximum tolerable level, the system will become unstable.
A peripheral device with thermal control circuitry is set within a casing of a portable computer. The portable computer further includes a main memory for storing programs and data, a central processing unit (CPU) for executing programs stored in the main memory, and a bus for connecting the peripheral device and the CPU. The peripheral device includes an outer package for protecting inner components of the peripheral device, and at least a peripheral processor set within the outer package for providing a specific operation, control, or driving functions. The peripheral device further includes pulse circuitry set within the outer package and electrically connected to the peripheral processor. The pulse circuitry produces pulse signals with a predetermined first frequency and transmits the signals to the peripheral processor, so that the peripheral processor can operate according to a predetermined first operation velocity, and thermal control circuitry set within the outer package with a thermal sensor. When a temperature detected by the thermal sensor of the thermal control circuitry exceeds a first predetermined temperature, the thermal control circuitry produces a first output to the pulse circuitry. This first output reduces the frequency of the pulse signals to a predetermined second frequency, so that the operating velocity of the peripheral processor is reduced to a second operating velocity. Simultaneously, the thermal control circuitry produces an interrupt signal to interrupt operation of the CPU. The CPU then performs a corresponding interrupt processing program to deal with related actions after the peripheral processor is reduced to the second operating velocity.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.